Since 1996, 59 fellowships have been awarded totaling $84,500. Three or four fellowships are presented annually to full-time graduate students. These awards are made possible through donations from UKAEF members as well as from the Commonwealth of Kentucky Research Challenge Trust Fund.

This year's UKAEF Fellowship awards are named in honor of Jean Pival, 25-year faculty member in the Department of English and active member of UKAEF since 1987.

"Jean was a key figure in beginning the organization and encouraging its success for the first 20 years," said Mary Witt, professor emeritus in the Department of Horticulture. Witt served as UKAEF president from 2008-2009 and currently serves as executive secretary.

Winners for the 2014-15 school year are Jonathan Chilcote, Barry Kidder and Wen Wen.

Chilcote, a doctoral candidate in the Department of History, wrote his dissertation on the international history of the 1918-19 influenza pandemic combining elements of diplomatic, medical, political and social history. He feels study of the past can teach valuable lessons applicable to today's situation with Ebola. Chilcote hopes to teach on a wide variety of subjects at a small college or university.

A doctoral candidate in the Department of Anthropology, Kidder has spent three summers in Yucatan, Mexico, conducting archeological research on the interaction between Maya elites and non-elites 2,000 years ago. Dedicated to teaching pedagogy, Kidder is enrolled in UK's Preparing Future Faculty program. Additionally, he taught for five years in a Texas high school and has taught at the college level.

Wen Wen is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Biology who focused her dissertation on ocular morphogenesis during eye development. Her students describe her as "caring, conscientious and fair in her teaching and mentoring of students." Wen has a research publication under review and revision for Developmental Biology.

For more information on UKAEF or to apply for a fellowship award, visit www.uky.edu/UKAEF/.